While working on my 20 day research study, there were times when I thought I was going to end up in a nervous hospital. Bless the woman's heart who spends 3 years on a study! I am very interested in learning from Hicks and her research. Her work with literacy offers many new ideas and theories. I find myself anxious to learn from her hard work. I can tell that we will not agree on every aspect of literacy but I have an open mind and a desire to learn.
I agree with Hicks that school runs hot and cold, meaning that it is highly complex. Therefore, the research involving education is equally complex. There are so many methods in data collection. I honestly feel that 2 researchers could have the same data and come to different conclusions with that data. Is the purpose of educational research reform or liberation? Do researchers want to bring about change or enlightenment?
As I was reading chapter 1, I began making parellels between myself and Hicks. We both grew up in rural areas and loved storybooks as children. I am anxious to continue my reading to see if we have many more connections. We also agree that the actions of teachers need to teach children how to listen, watch, feel and understand. There are more aspecs to literacy than reading and writing. One thing I don't share with Hicks is her love for making reading difficult. It id my goal when I write that everyone who reads it understands.
Dr. Jackson, a million thank yous for your podcast. Listening to you prior to reading chapter 2 kept me from having to read it 10 times. What I know for a fact is that literacy is complex. Children are complex. Teaching children literacy is hyper-complex. My goal as a teacher is to understand that every moment with a child has the potential to be a teachable situation. Race and gender does not matter. I am very anxious to learn how working-class families and middle-class families compare when looking at their values, beliefs and ways of acting. The shiftin that Hicks describes also interests me. I have noticed shifts in my own beliefs as a learner. I just didn't know to call it discourse. What I have learned so far from Hicks is that I have so very much more to learn.
Carol Sherrill
Comments (6)
Teaching is an art..In creating art one cannot be taught exactly what to create. We, as teachers, are given guidance through all of these marvelous researchers; it is up to the teacher to take all of this knowledge and make a masterpiece out of it. I think one of the important piece that we have learned so far is the difference between the qualitative and quantitative research. The qualitative reasearch gives us more to gleen from, more to work and mold to create that work of "art".
Posted by Angela Steele | June 21, 2010 8:28 PM
Posted on June 21, 2010 20:28
I agree, without Dr. Jackson's podcast I would have struggled when reading chapter 2. I loved your comment that every moment with a child has the potential to be a teachable situation. We have the greatest jobs in the world. Each day we have the opportunity to make a positive difference in a child's life. You are right race and class should not be the deciding factor when working with children. We should embrace their differences and work to reach all of our students. Pam Aubuchon
Posted by Pam Aubuchon | June 21, 2010 9:19 PM
Posted on June 21, 2010 21:19
Carol,
I'm glad to hear your perspective on literacy research. I am still very green when it comes to literacy and all of the research that it has set forth. I am very intrigued by your mentioning of how literacy research is just as complex as the process of literacy. I am curious to see how all of this research pans out as well in the end.
Posted by Nikki Leggins | June 21, 2010 11:23 PM
Posted on June 21, 2010 23:23
Carol,
I agree with you that Hicks’ writing is very hard to read. She tends to write lengthy sentences that give so much information that I forget what the beginning was about by the time I get to the end! I don’t think she needs to dumb down the material, but I feel that her writing could be more effective if the reader understands it without becoming frustrated. While the text is difficult to read, I think Hicks’ research is sound, and I like that she uses a combination of research and narrative experience to get her point across.
Laura Corbello
Posted by Laura Corbello | June 22, 2010 4:42 PM
Posted on June 22, 2010 16:42
Carol,
Teaching on the surface does look straight forward but when you look at Hick's research you begin to see all of the complexities of the classroom. I agree that we have to be hyper-aware of where students are from and what is a priority for them.
Posted by Candy Mooney | June 22, 2010 7:30 PM
Posted on June 22, 2010 19:30
I agree that teaching is very complex and often people under appreciate the work that teachers do in the classroom. I think that teachers and their families are the only ones that really understand the many roles that we must play each day. We not only have to make sure our children understand what they need to know for their age but we must also help them in social aspects. I am guilty of placing gender roles on my students too. We do so much and after reading these two chapters, it makes you realize that teachers must add one more responsibility...trying not to assign roles based on race, class, and gender. What a job!
Posted by Erin Whisnant | June 22, 2010 9:10 PM
Posted on June 22, 2010 21:10